The King of Kings Salvation Brings

The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

This is the miracle of Christmas! Jesus is both the baby in a manger and the King of Kings over all creation! He is the sovereign of the universe, the source of our eternal salvation, and the rightful ruler of every heart.

As I sat down to design this piece, I knew that I had to express this grand idea of kingly majesty and glory. Royal colors (deep red, purple) and gold came to mind. But I also wanted to display reverence, not make it gaudy or glitzy, so I had to balance the brilliance with some classy simplicity.

I started with a deep purplish-red background, using some watercolor stamps to create depth and variety in the colors. I then added the text, using my favorite monoline serif style but highlighting what I felt were the key words (salvation, enthrone) in a bolder script style. A while back I had created some crown stamps, and I knew one of those would be perfect for this piece. I kept the crown small and placed it in line with the text to draw the eye inward, enabling the viewer to catch the entire message at a glance.

Then came the fun part – adding glimmer and gold! I had in mind a subtle backdrop behind the brilliant throne of the King of Kings. So I used a thin brush to add lines of deep metallic red around the text, once again drawing the eye inward to the message. I then added gold effects to the lettering and crown with some brushes from Blush River Design, to make them really stand out and give the impression of great JOY and GLORY and MAJESTY.

This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!

To read my meditation on this verse, click here.